


It’s A Gift

by helsinkibaby



Category: NCIS
Genre: Angst, Breakfast, F/M, Fluff, Pre-Relationship, post ep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-04
Packaged: 2019-07-25 07:18:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16192760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: “Hey, you hauled my drunken ass in here last night,” he reminds her. “Sobered me up and let me crash on your couch... breakfast is the least I can do.”





	It’s A Gift

**Author's Note:**

> For fictober day 4 “will that be all?”
> 
> Post ep for 16.02

“What in the world...” 

Nick turns and grins at the sight that meets his eyes, that of a just barely awake Ellie Bishop, staring at her kitchen table like she can’t believe what she’s seeing. She’s so fixated on the sight that she doesn’t look at him straight away, which means he gets to properly take her in, from her tousled hair to her sleepy eyes to the baggy t-shirt and leggings pyjama combo she’s got going on. As he watches, she blinks a couple of times, rubs her eyes like she’s trying to wake herself up. 

Then she turns to look at him, bestows upon him a half dazed smile that manages to be pretty damn breathtaking for first thing in the morning. 

“Nick.” Her voice is soft, amazed even and he can’t help thinking that even sleep rumpled, with no make-up and unbrushed hair, she’s the most beautiful woman he knows. “What is all this?” 

He shrugs. “I woke up early, couldn’t go back to sleep-” he begins and she must think he means something he doesn’t because she bites her lip. 

“Was the couch too uncomfortable for you?”

“No, no, the couch was fine.” He’d actually slept better than he had in months, maybe years. He doesn’t think it was because of the excessive amounts of alcohol he’d consumed the night before and he knows it wasn’t because he was tired. “I actually slept great.” 

She narrows her eyes as she looks at him and he suddenly feels as if she could see right through him. “You look better,” she decides and it takes everything in him not to make some smart ass comment, not to preen under her gaze. He manages it, but it’s a close run thing. 

“So, I woke up and I couldn’t go back to sleep and I figured that instead of staring at your ceiling, I should probably do something productive. I started off with just cereal...” He indicates the couple of boxes that he’d found in Ellie’s kitchen. “But then I figured you might like something warm, so I fixed some pancakes... except while I was letting the batter chill, I thought you might prefer some French toast, so I whipped that up... and of course, either of them go great with maple syrup and bacon...” He places a plate of bacon and a bottle of syrup on the table as he speaks, beside the towering pile of pancakes - he’d made a lot of batter - and the plate of French toast. “So yeah... take your pick.” 

Ellie shakes her head, glances up at him and blinks suddenly, like she’s just realised how close he’s standing to her. “Will that be all?” she asks, amusement lacing her tone and he tilts his head, thinking. 

“I think there are still some eggs in your refrigerator,” he remembers. “You want scrambled eggs and toast? Because I can-” He half turns, all ready to head back to the kitchen but he’s stopped by her soft laugh, by her fingers curling around his wrist, pulling him back. Her hand is warm against his skin and it makes him shiver. 

“Nick, I don’t want scrambled eggs. This is more than enough.” She looks back to the table, where, sure enough, there’s enough food to feed half of NCIS. Maybe three quarters. She shakes her head again. “You didn’t have to do this.” 

“Hey, you hauled my drunken ass in here last night,” he reminds her. “Sobered me up and let me crash on your couch... breakfast is the least I can do.” 

Her fingers tighten on his wrist and he realises with a start that she’s still holding on. “You’d do the same for me.” She doesn’t sound like she has any doubt about that and the fact of the matter is, she shouldn’t. 

He’d do anything for her. 

But before he can do anything stupid, like actually open his mouth and let those words fall out, she actually leans into him, lets her head fall against his shoulder. “Thank you.” 

The words are so quiet he can barely hear them and he pushes his luck just a little, lets his head roll around so that he can press his lips against her hair. He half expects her to pull away, but she doesn’t, not right away at least. It’s a good twenty seconds before she straightens up and when her eyes meet his, they're a little brighter than they were a few minutes ago. 

“C’mon,” he says, gesturing towards the table. “Eat up before it either gets cold or Gibbs calls us with a dead body.” 

Ellie narrows her eyes at him. “If you just jinxed us...” They stand in silence for a moment but neither of their cell phones chime. He lifts both eyebrows and she visibly relaxes, letting go of his wrist in order to push her hair behind both ears. “I don’t know where to begin.” 

He pulls out a chair for her and she sits down while he goes to get the coffee. By the time he comes back, she’s helped herself to a generous serving of pancakes, bacon and maple syrup and when she takes the first bite, he’s damn lucky he doesn’t scald himself with hot coffee he’s putting down on the table in front of her. Closing her eyes, she tilts her head back and actually moans, the sound and visual combining to send Nick’s brain somewhere he really doesn’t want it to go. “Oh my god,” she says and that doesn’t help him at all. “These are amazing.” 

“What can I say?” He’s proud of himself for keeping his voice steady. “It’s a gift.” 

Opening her eyes, Ellie takes another bite. This time, she’s silent, but the look on her face is just as blissful. “I may never let you leave,” she tells him and Nick takes a sip of coffee so that the bitter liquid can help him swallow the words that are on the tip of his tongue. 

Namely, that that sounds good to him.


End file.
